


Surprise Valentine

by Esperata



Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: Arguing, First Dates, Love Confessions, M/M, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 15:15:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13684275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Esperata/pseuds/Esperata
Summary: Trip is determined to ask Malcolm out on Valentine's day. If only he can find the courage.





	Surprise Valentine

“So, dinner in the captain’s mess?” Archer asked as he stood to leave.

“Not tonight. I kinda wanted to have dinner with Malcolm tonight.”

Archer immediately sat himself back down.

“Does that mean you finally asked him out?” he queried as a grin began to spread across his face.

“Not exactly.” Trip fiddled with the hyperspanner laying on his desk as he avoided his old friend’s eyes.

“Not exactly,” Jon echoed. “Either you did or you didn’t Trip.”

“I asked him to dinner…” Trip explained. “Just not exactly as a date.”

Jonathan surveyed his friend in puzzlement.

“How can you invite someone to dinner on Valentine’s day and not make it seem like a date?”

Trip finally looked up and met his eyes.

“About the same way as you invited me to dinner a few minutes ago,” he answered.

“Ah.”

Archer’s tone of resigned acceptance spurred Trip to go on the defensive.

“But I’m gonna let him know tonight. For sure this time.”

“Of course Trip,” Jon agreed, recalling the myriad times Trip had made that declaration before only to find some excuse. Something of his thoughts must have come through in his tone though because Tucker straightened.

“I mean it! I’ve thought it through and got it all planned.”

“I’m pleased to hear it.” Archer stood again and shot his friend a confident smile. “I hope it all goes to plan.”

Trip’s shoulders slumped again.

“Me too. Oh an’ Captain?”

Archer turned in the doorway to glance back.

“If it _does_ all blow up in mah face…”

“You can come sulk in my quarters,” Jon offered.

“I was gonna say will you have Phlox on standby but that’s good too.”

Archer smiled fondly at him.

“Don’t worry Trip. Malcolm’s too well trained to strike a superior officer.”

“You weren’t there in the shuttlepod,” Trip muttered.

Archer laughed.

“Have a good evening Commander,” he offered before leaving Trip to contemplate the night ahead.

TT

Trip was a bundle of nerves as he met Malcolm at the man’s quarters. He’d insisted they change out of uniform and Malcolm had actually agreed without too much prodding for once. Now Trip was almost regretting it as the lieutenant looked absolutely stunning in his grey jacket and dark pants.

However Malcolm seemed quite relaxed as they made their way to the mess, chatting amiably about some modifications his team had managed to install to the phase pistols. Trip’s throat was too dry with nerves to do much more than make monosyllabic responses and he kept fingering the small box of chocolates he’d secreted in his pocket.

He took a deep calming breath as they reached their destination though and made a concerted effort to act more normally. This was familiar, he reminded himself. Eating dinner with Malcolm. Nothing unusual in that.

As they settled at an empty table with their food, Trip managed to take his first even breath of the evening. He’d already avoided numerous obstacles in getting this far. Just getting Malcolm to agree to eat with him on Valentine’s was an achievement. Trip had been sure that someone else would steal that honour in the weeks leading up to this day.

And he’d even managed to make it less formal. Getting Lieutenant Reed out of his uniform was a major achievement.

Trip had to duck his head and take a gulp of water at the mental image that sentence invoked and when he looked up, Malcolm was glancing round the room in some confusion.

“Is it me,” the Brit began, “or are there an unusual number of… couples… here tonight?”

Trip’s mouth opened before he caught himself and glanced around. Was that a hint of some kind? Or did Malcolm actually not realise what day it was?

“Yeah, well… it _is_ Valentine’s,” he offered.

“Is it?” Malcolm replied, answering that question. “I had no idea.”

Trip stared at him incredulously.

“How could you not know it was Valentine’s?”

Malcolm’s spine stiffened.

“The dates don’t really have that much meaning out here in space do they?” he challenged.

“But surely your crew have been talking about it?”

Trip had certainly been privy to numerous romantic discussions happening in engineering. He’d deny it ‘til his dying day but he’d listened in on the hope of getting some useful tip for his pursuit of Reed.

“I don’t make a habit of eavesdropping Commander.”

Trip wasn’t sure which irritated him more – the insinuation that he eavesdropped or the use of his title.

“Besides,” Malcolm continued. “If its Valentine’s day, what are you doing having dinner with me?”

“Maybe because I wanted to,” Trip snapped.

“But there must be plenty of women on board who’d like to get to know you better,” Reed persisted.

“An’ maybe I’m not interested in getting to know them better!”

Malcolm’s face set into hard lines.

“Is that what this is about? Have dinner with me to avoid some romantically inclined woman?”

“No.” Trip slammed his palm down on the table. “I wanted to have a romantic dinner with you!”

The silence was suddenly deafening and Trip realised their argument had been somewhat louder than he’d realised. Malcolm was blinking across at him but all Trip could do was stare back.

Then Malcolm’s eyes shifted down to Trip’s hand, still firmly planted on the table. Trip followed the gaze and saw with dismay that he’d flattened the small box of chocolate he’d been playing with in his pocket.

Cautiously he unstuck his hand and examined the damage.

The warmth from his body had clearly softened the chocolate and, combined with the squashing they’d now taken, left the box filled with an unappealing melt of brown.

“Were they for me?”

Malcolm’s quiet voice brought Trip out of his shocked daze and he looked up to see the Brit looking almost nervously at him. He was also aware that they were no longer the center of a group of silent spectators as everyone had kindly returned to their conversations.

Trip managed to swallow and nod, not sure at all where this was heading now but doubting it could be anywhere good. Somewhat to his surprise, Malcolm reached out and took the crumpled box from his unresisting fingers.

A small smile pulled at Malcolm’s lips.

“No-one’s ever bought chocolates for me before,” he commented.

“Sorry they got pulped.”

The smile widened as Malcolm met his worried gaze.

“It’s the thought that counts.”

Trip dropped his gaze awkwardly to his forgotten dinner.

“So… does this mean you’re not mad?”

“Mad? Why should I be mad?”

Trip risked a glance up at him.

“’Cause I tricked you into a Valentine’s day dinner. ‘Cause I blurted it out to the whole messhall. ‘Cause I… like you.”

Malcolm stared at him.

“Firstly, yes, it would have been nice to be invited properly to dinner… and I would rather you hadn’t announced that to everyone present… but mad because you like me? Trip, I’m flattered and thrilled you like me.”

An unstoppable smile spread its way across the engineer’s face.

“Yeah?”

Malcolm smiled back at him, less widely but no less fondly.

“Yes,” he insisted.

“Does that mean you like me too?” Trip queried.

Malcolm leaned slightly forward and spoke more quietly.

“If you’d like to come back to my quarters I’ll show you just how much I like you Commander.”

Trip stood so fast his chair almost fell over and he drew several more startled looks. Malcolm chuckled at him but rose too. As they headed towards the exit, Trip saw the flattened box still in Malcolm’s hand and he flushed in embarrassment.

“Yer don’t have to keep that,” he said.

Malcolm smirked at him.

“Oh I have some ideas for this,” he purred. “And after all, I haven’t had dessert yet.”

Trip grinned and pulled his eager lover somewhere away from prying eyes.


End file.
